Texas - Coronavirus COVID-19 #2

[TexLil]

Dallas County reports 572 new COVID-19 cases, setting new record for fourth day in a row | FOX 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth

Dallas County reports 572 new COVID-19 cases, setting new record for fourth day in a row

 

[roche.analisa]

Covid cases: Texas, Florida pause reopening; pool testing; NBA players

 

[Trino]

North Texas family shaken after 18 relatives test positive for COVID-19 following surprise birthday party

Sorry to hear this, but wouldn't you think someone might have mentioned a possibility of infection?

 

[MimosaMornings]

And, where were the parents?

They knew about it. Paid for it.
That’s what I heard from the neighbor who has a house there

 

[jjenny]

Sorry to hear this, but wouldn't you think someone might have mentioned a possibility of infection?

Ron B. featured in the article says he and his wife refused to go to the party because of a possibility of infection. The party goers weren't socially distancing either, as evidenced by the photos. But seems like many people came out of lock down, think everything is hunky dory, and are letting their guard down.

 

[roche.analisa]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/06/28/coronavirus-live-updates-us/

 

[roche.analisa]

'STAY HOME': Texas Residents Receive Emergency Alert Regarding COVID-19 Surge

 

[margarita25]

Gov. Greg Abbott issues statewide mask order

"”COVID-19 is not going away," said the governor in an announcement published on his social media accounts. "In fact, it's getting worse."

According to Abbott, first-time violators will be issued a warning. If violated a second time, a $250 fine will be issued, said the governor.

The order goes into effect at noon Friday.

The mandate comes one day after Texas hit another grim milestone in COVID-19 cases and reported 8,076 new cases on Wednesday, making it the highest one-day total in the state since the start of the pandemic.“

 

[SoCalDavidS]

Gov. Greg Abbott issues statewide mask order

"”COVID-19 is not going away," said the governor in an announcement published on his social media accounts. "In fact, it's getting worse."

This virus is so confusing. Just yesterday the President said it was going to disappear very soon.

 

[MimosaMornings]

Houston Astros return to the field for summer camp workouts

Texas GOP votes to move forward with in-person convention in Houston

 

[Fireflize]

Hard-Hit US States 'Surge' Hospital Intensive Care Beds as ICU Wards Fill Up
Hard-Hit US States 'Surge' Hospital Intensive Care Beds as ICU Wards Fill Up

 

[margarita25]

“10 a.m.: The Houston Fire Department is considering of putting fire trucks out of service and temporarily closing fire stations because of staffing shortages, according to a Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association release.

"If HFD orders service reductions, incident response times will likely increase, and fire and EMS service outages will occur throughout the city," HPFFA said.

The union said the department has been hit with hundreds of resignations recently, quarantines and retirements.“

Karbach Brewing Co. employee tests positive for COVID-19

 

[margarita25]

“As COVID-19 roars out of containment in Houston, the city’s paramedics have been among the first to feel the surge. More than 250 of the Houston Fire Department’s staff are sidelined, either hospitalized with COVID-19 or quarantined because of it. Their remaining co-workers are left to deal with a fast-increasing number of calls for medical help and hospital emergency rooms too overwhelmed to immediately accept the patients on their stretchers.

To better understand what’s happening, I talked with Sam Peña, chief of the Houston Fire Department.“

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/life/article/Houston-fire-chief-We-re-overwhelmed-with-the-15384996.php

 

[margarita25]

Houston fire chief: 'We're overwhelmed with the number of calls' due to COVID-19

“And what’s the state of the fire department right now?

Right now we have over 260 firefighters diagnosed or in quarantine for COVID, and there's a lot of uncertainty for them. They're wondering when they're going to see their family, when they're going to get back to normal — and for those that have been exposed, what long-term effects this virus is going to have on them.

Operationally, we're stretched extremely, extremely thin. We came into this fiscal year understaffed because of things that happened with Proposition B and missing our recruitment target. We've had higher-than-normal attrition. Now COVID takes 260 firefighters off the line. It affects our ability to staff our ambulances. We need 845 firefighters to come in every shift to staff every apparatus that we have available.

Are firefighters at a much higher risk of being exposed on the job than other people?

Absolutely. We have taken the posture, from almost from the beginning of this pandemic, that we have a heightened suspicion that every person we meet may have the virus and may be contagious. That has helped us keep down our number of exposures and positive tests for firefighters.

MORE Q&As: Hotez: Houston needs COVID action now. ‘The nightmare scenario is unfolding.’

But the numbers are still getting higher and higher as this fire spreads through our community.”

 

[margarita25]

This is how Houston’s COVID-19 positivity rate has increased in the last month

“HOUSTON – The COVID-19 positivity rate in the city of Houston is 24.82% as of June 28, up from 15.35% on June 1.

Just to explain a little. This is a particularly powerful piece of statistical information because positivity rate takes into account the increased testing as it has become more widely available. Positivity rate is the number of reported positive COVID-19 cases divided by the reported total number of tests performed.“

 

[margarita25]

Houston attorney planning to sue to stop Texas mask order

“HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Governor Greg Abbott's mandatory mask order was not even an hour old, and Houston attorney Jared Woodfill was already drafting the paperwork to sue.

"Every time Governor Abbott issues what we believe are unconstitutional mandates or orders, as he describes them, we believe it's appropriate to challenge them," Woodfill told ABC13.

It will be his seventh lawsuit filed against elected officials over executive orders issued during the pandemic.

The former Harris County Republican Party Chairman believes all of them violate people's rights.”

[...]

“JUDGE HIDALGO'S FULL STATEMENT

"I welcome the ability to make face coverings enforceable in Harris County. We can't lose sight of the fact that, due to the rapid increase in hospitalizations here, already our hospitals have exceeded their base ICU capacity and are having to implement surge protocols. Every tool that our county is allowed to use to contain this crisis saves lives and gets us closer to a day in which we can sustainably coexist with the virus.

We have no time to waste in Harris County -- the virus is not responding to incrementalism, and we are quickly running out of time. I continue to advocate for an enforceable stay home order in Harris County, so that we can bring the curve down and give ourselves a shot at reopening successfully. I'm afraid that waiting will only lead to more lives lost, prolong the economic pain, and bring about further crises."”

—-

“By state law, the County Judge is also the county’s director of emergency management, leading the Harris County Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management (HCOHSEM). In addition to her formal duties, Judge Hidalgo plays an important advocacy role for the County.“

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo > Home

 

[margarita25]

Texas won’t specify where hospital beds are available as coronavirus cases hit record highs

 

[margarita25]

Houston hospitals transferring patients amid COVID rise: 'We're running out of ICU beds'

“McLeod said Ben Taub's ICU was at 73% occupancy, while LBJ's ICU was at 96% occupancy as of Thursday morning. Half of those ICU patients were being treated for coronavirus, he said.”

"We're running out of ICU beds," he told ABC News.

 

[roche.analisa]

Florida, Texas post daily COVID-19 records as 'positivity' rates climb

 

[roche.analisa]

Texas Reports Record Number of New COVID-19 Cases With 8,258